Bis[alkynylplatinum(ii)] terpyridine molecular tweezer with conformationally-rigid spacer: modulating the binding selectivity in a three-component supramolecular recognition system.

A novel bis[alkynylplatinum(ii)] terpyridine molecular tweezer with conformationally-rigid spacer has been designed and synthesized, which shows enhanced binding affinity towards the complementary guests when compared to its semi-rigid counterpart. Moreover, a three-component supramolecular recognition system comprised of the molecular tweezer and two electron-rich guests was established. Reversible switching of the host-guest binding preference can be achieved via adding a trace amount of hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) into chloroform. Such a system will be interesting for the future construction of intelligent molecular machines and devices.